The Observer, April 4, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 23
New ecology classes, stronger research result from partnership
Plants just got a lot more fun. This semester, Case's biology department and Cleveland's Holden Arboretum joined together to expand the current graduate research program in plant sciences and ecology.
The three-year renewable affiliation will benefit both institutions. For the university, the connection will give Case students researching plant sciences and ecology access to Holden's resources. This includes 3500 acres of land, 25 ponds, and more than 17,000 plants recorded in the order of their acquisition, in addition special collections of trees, gardens, and natural areas.
"Holden's partnership with the Department of Biology at CWRU will help strengthen their plant dynamics and disturbance ecology graduate program," said Mary Topa, the director of science and research at Holden.
Holden is also receiving benefits from this partnership. "Graduate students are the lifeblood of research on most college campuses, and a fairly accurate barometer of the quality of research conducted by an institution. Consequently, partnerships between public gardens and universities are viewed as a vital part of any public garden's research program," said Topa.
According to Topa, Holden and Case view this partnership as an opportunity that will help both institutions attract the "best and the brightest minds in ecology and the plant sciences" to Northeast Ohio.
The new affiliation is an expansion of the plant dynamics and disturbance ecology program previously offered by the university. Before this affiliation was created, the department's program focused on Great Lakes ecology. The courses to be added to the program are: plant physiological ecology, plant-microbe relationships, ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry. The first course that is currently being taught is a rhizosphere ecology seminar course taught by Dr. Juan Carlos Lopez Gutierrez, a postdoctoral associate from Holden. A course tentatively titled "Co-adaptation or organisms" may be taught in the fall of 2008. Dr. David Burke, who examines plant-microbe relationships, may teach this course.
Members of CWRU's biology department as well as researchers at Holden believe that this affiliation is the key to a competitive research program. Topa explains, "By combining our strengths, we can expand the core courses offered to ecology graduate students and help build a highly competitive graduate program."
With a more competitive program, students graduating from the department will be more desirable candidates when searching for a job than they already were. People with a master's degree in ecology or plant sciences are qualified to work as a technician or research specialist in university labs, government labs, and for non-profit organizations, or they could become a science writer or outreach science coordinate. A Ph.D. in the field would open up even more doors and allow for positions such as faculty positions at universities.
The biology department works with several different institutions within the Cleveland area, including the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. These community connections are essential to the success of the department, as they offer students opportunities of hands on experiences and provide resources unattainable on campus.
